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Is there any excuse for putting a disabled child (or any child) in a cage?

And now in some people probably shouldn't be parents news ... Anaheim police have arrested the parents of an 11-year-old autistic boy, after it was discovered that he may have been living inside a dog cage in the family's home.

Police investigated the scene on Tuesday night, after receiving a tip
that the child was living in a large kennel-style cage. Lt. Bob Dunn
said that were "some signs that someone had been living there, including
a mattress."

The cage itself measured about 6
feet tall and 4 1/2 feet wide. Dunn said, "It was enough for him to be
able to stand up in if, in fact, he was living in that cage."

It's being reported that the boy is uncommunicative and that his violent outbursts became more and more uncontrollable as he grew. Allegedly, the cage was a way to contain his outbursts. You know, because that's how you handle autism.

I'm not about to pretend that I know what it's like to have to deal
with an autistic child, but I'm pretty sure the indignity of being put
in a dog cage isn't the way to do it. Besides, what if he hurt himself?
If the kid needs restraints and/or meds, then he needs them. He doesn't
need to be locked in a cage. That's not going to help him now, and it's
not going to help him learn to manage, and it's not going to help his
parents learn how to help him.

Police say the child was "found nourished and well-bathed" but was taken to a local hospital for further examination and to figure out if there are other underlying medical conditions.

Two other children in the home, his 8- and 10-year-old siblings, were
taken into protective custody. Mom and dad, both in their 30s, were
charged with child endangerment and false imprisonment.

Further complicating the case is a language barrier. The family is
Vietnamese, and police say that translators will be needed as the
investigation continues. Already there are conflicting reports from the
family and an additional tenant who rents a room in the home on whether
the kid was kept in the cage "a couple years, months, or even hours."

This whole case just sucks, and I only hope that this poor kid gets the help he needs.

Is there any excuse for putting a disabled child (or any child) in a cage?

Hell no. If anything the parents could have been contributing to his violent outbursts by locking him in a cage. If they needed help managing his behavior, there are resources out there. There are places they could have taken him. Depending on where they lived, honestly there may not be many resources, but damn, they could have at least tried.

is that the one that looks similar to those that they have in some children's hospitals on the beds? it zips up and is see through? my kiddo was put in one when he was in the hospital last month. he liked to get his copperfield on.

i can't imagine putting my child in a cage no matter how bad he got and he was kicking our asses last week as a side effect of one of his meds. i mean full on trying to eat us...biting, scratching, kicking, you name it, he did it. there are other days where i feel like i want to just give up...hubs and i made the decision that if it ever gets to the point where we feel that both of us cannot handle aidan, we will find him a facility that can. i don't ever feel that way, but he is not violent on a consistent basis.

for me, and only me, i would like to think that i would try to find some help before i resorted to putting my child in a cage. this article claims he appeared to be bathed and nourished but was essentially "living in this cage." i'm not sure how accurate that is, but if that's true, i find that to be horrible. i wouldn't handle my son's autism that way...and he is classified as severe. closed, confined spaces make him act out even more, if this child was/is similar to mine in that regard, this cage wasn't going to help. they needed help in how to deal with him and his outbursts. how to identify his triggers, and methods to help him calm down. maybe now, he can get the help that he needs. and, i actually feel for the parents, i mean, it ain't easy raising a child with special needs, especially one with violent outbursts, their unfamiliarity with the English language didn't help either, but i also think putting their son in a cage was a dick move.

The parents did not speak English. I'll bet they had no idea of the support and services that were available to them.

Quoting tiffyhamm:

Hell no. If anything the parents could have been contributing to his violent outbursts by locking him in a cage. If they needed help managing his behavior, there are resources out there. There are places they could have taken him. Depending on where they lived, honestly there may not be many resources, but damn, they could have at least tried.

When Dd was going through an extremely violent time, I was her only caregiver. When I say extremely violent, in a 1 year period, my nose was broken, I had bruises from head to toe, bite wounds, knots on my head, etc etc. We were taught to restrain her properly, but Dh got deployed, so it was all me. She couldn't be left alone because she strangled her little brother, attacked her big brother, and became extremely dangerous. The other problem was that she only slept for about 3 hours at a time.

I locked her in her room on occasion just to get a break.

All I'm saying is that we had professional help and guidance and I resorted to locking a 6 year get old In a room so I could get some sleep. While in her room, in 1 year we lost 2 beds, a solid wood dresser, and numerous toys because she became so destructive.

Would I lock her in a dog kennel? No. But can I see the point of view of a person who would? Yes. I know it doesn't make it right, but if this family had no outside resources assisting then, I can imagine the parent's frustration.

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